Washington Oregon California Idaho Nevada Utah 7. Montana 8. Wyoming 1 7 2 4 8 3 5 6 9 Washington Oregon California Idaho Nevada Utah 7. Montana 8. Wyoming 9. Colorado Alaska Hawaii 10 11

The History Native people had been living on the land that became known as the West for at least 14,000 years in some areas. Europeans made contact in the late 1700s. There were two reasons for a major population increase in the western states in the mid 1800s: The Oregon Trail The California Gold Rush

Climate This region is large and very spread out so there are many different climates found here. Some areas are very warm like Hawaii and Southern California. Some areas are very cold such as Alaska or the inland states with mountains. Some states have both dry hot deserts and cold snow covered mountains!

The Land The West is very diverse with: Mountains (and volcanoes) Deserts Glaciers Forests Plains Beaches The West region includes 11 states in total. Nine states are part of the contiguous (connected) United States. Hawaii and Alaska are also included in this region. The land in Hawaii and Alaska is very different from that in the contiguous western states.

Economy Major industries include: Fishing Shipping Farming Ranching Timber Technology Entertainment Industry Tourism

Natural Resources Natural resources are materials that are found in the environment. Natural resources found in the West include: Oil (pumped from the ground) Metals (gold, silver and copper mined from the ground) Forests (that provide timber ) Water (dams create energy)

Landmarks Landmarks are important places. They can be man-made things such as a monument. They can be historical locations. They can be things created by nature that are unique in some way. Landmarks pictured: USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii – Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California – Old Faithful, at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming There are many important landmarks found in the West. Some examples include: